


Escape to the Country

by GarlicBreadforJuliusCaesar



Series: We Start and End With Family [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Phil Coulson, Family Feels, Fluff, Holidays, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Canon Compliant, Other, Road Trips, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-03-20 19:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18999265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GarlicBreadforJuliusCaesar/pseuds/GarlicBreadforJuliusCaesar
Summary: Phil takes his family on a much-needed vacation.





	1. I Want to *bomp bomp* Get Away!

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Cabin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13494688) by [SebsNightmareCure (orphan_account)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SebsNightmareCure). 



> 1\. I actually wrote the work this was based off, so don't mind the name change, it's still me.  
> 2\. This fic is set after Avengers: Endgame, but I threw most of the canon out the window. If you haven't seen it though, maybe don't read this just yet. In this fanfiction:  
> \- It's five years-ish post Endgame. Anything that isn't here (Morgan Stark, Pepper, Bruce/Hulk combo, etc.) doesn't exist or didn't happen in this universe.  
> \- Phil is the Avengers Handler (I haven't finished AoS, so throw that canon out the window, too.)  
> \- Peggy is in the future because Time Travel.  
> \- Tony and Natasha are alive and here. Thor is also here.  
> \- Assume anything else I didn't mention isn't important/didn't happen.

If the impromptu cuddle pile in the living room was anything to go by, they needed a break. Phil knew that they were overworked. It had been months since more than half the team was in the Tower at once. They were retired, technically speaking, but that meant nothing at S.H.I.E.L.D. Technically, Nick’s cat should have died by now, but Goose seemed to be oblivious to that fact. All the same, it had been too long since they’d had a break.

 

Casting his mind back, Phil tried to remember the last time he shared a meal with all of them. Thor had visited New Asgard for a few weeks and before that he and Bruce were at a week-long conference in Bucharest. Peter had only arrived back from his last semester in Massachusetts in last month or so, and Natasha and Bucky shipped out for France in the first week of October.

 

Further back than that, Tony had been out for the month of September on Stark Industries business. Steve and Peggy were in Wakanda for the last week of August, at the same time that Clint and Natasha did a stint at the newly-establish Rocky Mountains base, and the list went on. Phil got as far back as his own mission back in April before he gave up. It had been too long since they’d had a chance to relax as a team. He missed family time.

 

Drawing back to present, Phil watched the scene before him. Tony had crash landed on the couch after a 13-hour flight from Japan. He was discovered by Bruce an hour later. The older man had settled into the arm of chair with the other’s feet in his lap and had drifted off, too. Clint had dropped in from the range, and sprawled out on the floor in front of them both. They had been like that since the mid-morning, and showed no signs of moving any time soon.

 

Phil sighed to himself. _I know they’re overworked_.

 

It was true, there was no denying it. If they weren’t working themselves to the brink on scientific breakthroughs or diplomatic strategies, they were out-of-town on classified missions, far from the reach of Phil’s protection.

 

_I should do something about their personal days, some downtime._ Retirement be damned, he was still their handler, and he was going to handle this.

 

But for now, lunch. If he knew his boys, they would wake in an hour give or take, and they’d want food. He could invent ways to free up their schedules later. Digging through the fridge, he started preparations for a Shepherd’s Pie. He also tossed the ingredients for a lemon tart onto the counter, deciding he ought to treat the boys to something sweet.

 

One of the unexpected side effects of being a high ranking agent was the ability to multitask. As he pealed the sweet potato for the pie, his mind wandered back to his plans. It would be an uphill battle to increase their free time in general. After everything that had happened, the world felt comforted by the fact that the Avengers were still around to protect them. And emergencies were unpredictable, they were never guaranteed their rest days.

 

Browning some onions in a pan, Phil ran some scenarios in his head. None of them worked. No matter how he tried, they were impossible. He was on the verge of giving in, calling an end to his good-natured crusade before it had even begun.

 

_I need a holiday._  He thought exasperatedly.

 

And that was it. The simplest solution. He would’ve kicked himself if he wasn’t so pleased. He hummed jovially as he slid the pie into the oven.

 

Tony wandered in from the living room while he was kneading the pastry for the lemon tart. He looked a little rough around the edges, but after so many years of being an international businessman he recovered from jet lag quickly. He smiled, yawning playfully.

 

“Mornin’, Phil.”

 

“Good afternoon.” he returned, “How was your flight?”

 

Tony hummed half-heartedly. “Long.”

 

Phil nodded, pressing the tart base into the tin and placing it the freezer to chill. He turned back to face the counter. Tony was hastily eating pastry scraps off the bench, having the sense to appear at least a little guilty at being caught. It drew a chuckle from Phil.

 

“You little rascals will be the death of me.”

 

They laughed. Their banter devolved into mindless chatter. By the time the pie was done, Tony was relaying a story about a toddler he had met on the flight home.

 

“- and I shit you not, he climbs up into the overhead storage, starts opening luggage and throwing it around the cabin. The flight attendants were losing their minds, trying to coax him down. And his mum is _still sleeping._  Man, I could use a holiday.”

 

“It’s funny you should say that.” said Phil. “I was just thinking it would be nice to take the team somewhere, have some family time. I wasn’t sure if the others would be interested.”

 

The conversation passed briefly for lunch to be served. They picked it back up as that ate,talking between mouthfuls of chicken.

 

“Bruce has been talking about getting away from work for a few months now. I can’t remember the last time we just went somewhere that didn’t have something to do with our jobs. And I know Steve would love it, team building or whatever.” He cleared his throat. “When do we leave?”

 

“I’m not sure,” he replied, “I haven’t gotten around to checking everyone’s schedules, yet. Sometime soon, if we can.”

 

Tony waved his hand in the air, pulling a hologram view screen into existence. Projected onto it was a calendar, set out with timetables for the whole team. He studied the information for a moment.

 

“27th of next month? We obviously can’t go before we do that S.H.I.E.L.D Christmas bullshit, but there’s a three week gap after that.”

 

“Brilliant.” praised Phil, causing Tony to flush down his neck and scurry off with the plates.

 

As soon as the lemon tart was ready and setting in the fridge, they set off for headquarters. Phil had decided to get the paperwork filed for their trip that very day, lest Fury try and schedule them in for a mission or media appearance.

 

———

 

Trying to coordinate the leave of ten people all at once was a tedious process to say the least. Firstly, he had to fill out ten seperate ‘Application for Planned Leave’ forms, each four pages in length. That took an age on its own. He ran them to Human Resources.

 

There, he filled out an adjustment to ensure the paperwork would be computerised immediately. That required him to drop in on the IT room and get another form and stop by Records to have it stamped. He ran that to HR, too.

 

Once filed, they had to be taken to Maria Hill’s office for the go-ahead; she was in charge of the oversight of the Avengers team. She sent him down to HR again to collect a ‘Record of Available Leave’ form for each person. He went.

 

Maria looked it over, finding holiday time in abundance for all parties. She signed off on the forms, and sent him back to HR. He filed them, adjustments in tow, and waited for them to be digitised. Phil got a hard-earned muffin.

 

He received a summons from HR to collect the ten ‘Approval for Planned Leave’ forms, and a form for ‘Suspension of Team Duties’. He was also instructed to go to Records and collect a ‘Variation of Routine’ form and an adjustment for the above because it crossed a change of the calendar year.

 

At this time, he was called away from his task to rescue the Research and Development staff. Tony had spent the last hour harassing an intern about his use of the soldering iron. He was being escorted out by security when Phil arrived. Because he couldn’t think of anything better for him to do, he sent him to find Steve or Peggy and fill them in on the plans.

 

Back down the HR for processing. Each form was stamped and signed individually.

 

Now, if it had been anyone else the next stop would be the Team Handler’s office - which wasn’t necessary, as the team handler was _Phil_ , and he was able to sign them all where he stood.

 

To Maria Hill’s office for schedule adjustments. She sighed heavily, stamping them all, glaring at the adjustment form like it had wronged her bloodline. She sent him on the Fury’s office.

 

Fury was anything but happy to see him. Taking that number of agents away from the agency for that length of time was unheard of. He shuffled through the paperwork for a handful of tense and silent minutes. He glared at Phil, yelled about wasting departmental time logging all these forms on a Saturday, and signed off on the condition that Phil ‘didn’t pull shit like this again anytime soon.’

 

Back to HR. The approval of the request by all parties was recognised and replaced by a request for three more forms. ‘Approval of Variation of Routine’ was retrieved from Records, along with ‘Request for Reallocation of Duties’, while the ‘Approval of Extended Leave’ form had be printed off in the copy room.

 

The door of Hill’s office slammed shut behind him after she had signed a hole in the final form. She threatened a fate worse than death if he brought her another form in the next decade.

 

Back to HR. Approved. To Fury. Begrudgingly approved. HR.

 

At the end of it all, there was still one more step in the process. Each agent had to approve the approval of the leave. Phil filed his while still in HR, but an alert was sent out of the rest of the team. If they didn’t approve it in the next ten days the process would begin anew. Phil prayed that it would never come to that.

 

In between one of the rounds of chasing the bureaucracy around headquarters, Bucky and Natasha landed in from France. They had managed a full debrief and medical check in the time it had taken him to finish up the filing. They approved of the leave on their way out. Tony did the same.

 

The sun had set in the time it had taken him to fill the forms, however, Phil couldn’t bring himself to be irritated. He had been able to do something for his team. He received a text from Peggy as he drove home that she and Steve had logged their approval. He smiled as he pulled into the garage.

 

———

 

Phil sent out a team memo, outlining the purpose of the leave and urging the remaining members of the team to _hurry up and approve the leave or so help me_. This seemed to do the trick, because come Monday morning, every member of the Avengers team was on scheduled leave as of the twenty-seventh of December. The holiday was on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any pesky typos, please give me a yell.  
> Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more soon-ish*
> 
> *maybe, Terms and Conditions apply.


	2. Phil Coulson - Travel Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil regrets taking his family on a much-needed holiday

Lao Tzu was once quoted saying _“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”_  Phil thought this should be amended to  _“the journey of a thousand miles begins with a million chores and stress.”_

 

It took three days for him to realise he was in over his head. This holiday business was harder than he had banked on. He considered himself a good juggler, but this was too much.

 

He received a call from Fury on Sunday night. Between strings of profanities, he asked where exactly Phil planned on taking his precious superhero team on this _‘field trip.’_  He seemed to be under the impression that if they took so much as one day off, S.H.I.E.L.D would collapse and New York would be left defenceless to crumble into the sea. Phil promised he would email Fury with the address and necessary contact numbers in case of emergency. He then added _‘find destination’_  to his list of tasks.

 

Peter stopped by on Monday to drop off the last box of his things. He wasn’t officially moved back into the Tower until Friday, but he wanted to put his room back in order. He interrupted Phil’s fight with the laundry to ask him where they were travelling to. This seemed to be a popular concern, and Phil moved it up in priority.

 

Peggy caught him on his way to a meeting, asking if they were ‘taking the children’, which was code for _‘will the team be ageing down while we’re away?’_  He hadn’t put a lot of thought into it, but realised that he had been planning for it subconsciously, and approved. Peggy said she would run the idea by Thor.

 

Thor had his own question: _how are we getting there?_  The throbbing headache that had been building in his skull reached critical. This was shaping up to be a terrible idea full of pain. There was too much to do, and Phil didn’t have the time or energy for any of it. He called in the cavalry.

 

An emergency team dinner was called on Tuesday night. Phil ordered enough food to keep them going all night, hoping to get some help on the matters at hand. Table spread with delights from _Pequeño Restaurante_ , he prepared for the challenges ahead.

 

Everyone arrived around seven - except for Clint, who was doing a workshop at the community college, and Bucky, who was at his Little League baseball tournament - stumbling lie zombies towards the dining room table. Phil was reminded again why they needed a break. He brought up the topic during the second round of tacos.

 

“Guys, I’m not sure where to go from here. I’m not sure where we should go for this trip.” he shrugged. “Any suggestions?”

 

“Somewhere in the States.” said Bruce. “Just in case.”

 

The team nodded and mumbled in agreement.

 

Natasha chimed in next. “Somewhere peaceful. Not a tourist trap, no paparazzi.”

 

“No media of any description.” added Bucky.

 

Phil thought that sounded like an excellent idea. He shuddered at the memory of the camera crews that bombarded their Disneyland visit. Somewhere with some privacy would definitely be best. He voiced this to the team.

 

“I own a couple of holiday homes upstate?” suggested Tony around a mouthful of taco. “Maybe we could go to one of those?”

 

This sounded like a plan. As soon as they finished eating, they migrated to the living room to shop for holiday destinations. As would be expected, Tony owned more beach houses and lake houses and town houses than you could poke a stick at. They were cataloged on the Tower server, and the team spent the better part of twenty minutes browsing through them leisurely. This seemed the wrong approach, as many of them just didn’t suit their needs. They tried a different tactic.

 

Tony ran up a sorting algorithm while the team discussed features of their ideal holiday home. They decided that it was the wrong season for a trip to the beach, they needed access to convenience stores and major motorways, and that it had to be somewhere with a lot of nature. They filtered the results.

 

In the end, there was just one venue to suit their needs. A stunning lake house a few hours out of the city, with rooms for them all and some to spare. Peggy was the first to approve, gasping audibly at the scenery. Steve chuckled something about ‘Bucky’ and ‘Camping’, which made Peter laugh too. It was unanimous, that was their destination.

 

———

 

In the following weeks, Phil spent his time making sure everything would fall into place. The sheer volume of tasks that needed doing was still daunting, but he didn’t let that phase him. He was a senior agent after all, he could balance a few tasks. More than a few.

 

First things first, the cabin needed a safety check. No one had stayed there since before Sokovia, and they all agreed it should get a once-over before they left. He handed that job onto Tony, seeing as it was his place.

 

Tony took Steve and Bucky up to the cabin the next weekend for the fixer-upper. They travelled upstate with crate loads of tools, promising to stay in touch. The trio discovered it a little run down. The melodramatic video tour with sad violin music that they sent him showed that they had their work cut out for them. He was sure they would be fine, forwarding the message to Peggy - he was sure she would get a giggle out of it while she was at her conference.

 

Phil got a text from Bucky late in the evening of Sunday.They had been talking earlier on in the day about making the place more homey, and apparently that was exactly what they did. Attached to the text was a photograph of the three of them, dressed in their old S.H.I.E.L.D workout tees, smiling from ear to ear. And they were coated from head to toe in paint. Tony had smears of baby blue across his cheeks like warpaint, while Steve had tufts of coral in his hair. Bucky had his name rendered on his metal arm in a stunning lilac. The message read: “The room needed a pop of colour.”

 

They called to say they were returning the next Wednesday, having kitted the house out for their stay. A big, green tick was placed next to that task on the roster. With that settled, he sent Fury all the credentials, receiving an approval from his friend. The message read: _“Don’t kill my team. Have fun.”_  - and if there was an emoticon at the end, that was between them and the secure server.

 

Secondly, Phil tackled the task of making sure they could actually get to the house. That proved to be harder than finding somewhere to stay. Cramming ten people into a car, while fun, is neither practical nor legal. And call him crazy, but Phil would rather not get arrested on this trip.

 

He spent a hour combing through car rental websites for ten-seater minivans when Steve reminded him that they also needed space for three weeks worth of luggage and supplies. Groaning, he spent a further half hour trying to work out the logistics of cramming everyone into the one car, before giving up and ordering three.

 

This seemed an elegant solution for the two minutes it took Phil to type in his credit card information and complete the booking. Then he found himself with two new problems: Who’s driving and which car will everyone travel in. He shelved that task for Peggy when she returned home.

 

Lastly, he then drew up a packing roster, ordered travel insurance and budgeted for holiday expenses. He also drew up a timeline for preparations, factoring all their Christmas media appearances and other work commitments. It took two weeks, but it was worth it. He then sat back and let the rest work itself out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two, going strong with this re-writing business. Looking forward to getting this show on the road.
> 
> See any typos, give us a yell. Or just give us a yell if you're enjoying it


	3. Oh, The Places You'll Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ROADTRIP!

The sun rose on the morning of the twenty-seventh far sooner than anyone had expected. The weeks had slipped past in a blur. Now, Phil found himself zipping up his suitcase, readying to leave.

It was only seven, but the Tower was already abuzz with activity. The kitchen was a carnival of sights and sounds and smells. Steve was flipping fluffy, golden-brown blueberry pancakes in one hand and adding more bacon to the grill with the other. Clint was cutting fruit with deadly accuracy. They were hard at work making breakfast. Also in the kitchen was Peter, who was _helping_ \- well, whatever Peter was doing wasn’t _really_ helping anyone, but he had flour in-hand and smile on face, so he was allowed to stay.

At the table, the girls were busy with their own tasks. Peggy was dictating coordinates and street names as she pulled Natasha’s hair into pristine bobbles while the latter marked them up on maps for the trip. Scattered around them were an assortment of snacks and lunch boxes, being meticulously curated by Bruce.

Adding to the chaos, Thor ran in with Bucky, loaded to the teeth with luggage. They ran through a checklist together, humming and hawing and dashing back to whence they came for items forgotten. Tony appeared in the doorway with yet more bags, and they scurried from here to there.

Breakfast hit the table in the blink of an eye, and the maps and snack bags disappeared, replaced by plates and hungry heroes. The clatter of chairs filled the air, before calm took the space as everyone tucked in. Over their meal, they discussed some last minute logistics.

“Right.” announced Peggy. “Steve, you’re driving the first car with James and I. Phil, you take Nat and Clint, and Thor can take the rest of you.”

She reached to the sideboard beside the table, handing out a map to each driver. They had been coded with a sticky dot corresponding to the colour of the rental car they would take. Phil chuckled at the attention to detail, tucking it into his jacket for safe-keeping.

“There’s a rest-stop about an hour and half away, I suggest we stop there and regroup. It’s marked on the route in orange. Should you encounter any misadventures along the way, emergency stopping points and public bathrooms are marked in pink.” She cleared her throat. “Good?”

Phil could only nod. Peggy, as always, had thought of everything. She was twice the agent he’d ever be, that was for sure.

Breakfast ended, the dishes were loaded into the washer, and everyone went their seperate ways for last-minute preparations. Phil busied himself securing the doors and windows of the common floor and switching the air conditioning off. These tasks weren’t strictly necessary, but it felt more productive than standing around.

Once they all returned, final checks were done. They split into their travel groups, one caregiver per car. This brought them to an important question.

“Is anyone ready to unwind, or would you like to wait until we arrive?” Peggy inquired, glancing around at the children-to-be.

“I’ll wait ’til we arrive.” said Steve. Bucky agreed, along with Bruce and Tony.

“Can I wait and see what happens?” asked Peter. When given the go ahead, Natasha and Clint also took that option.

They prepared to set off. The rental cars arrived as they crowded into the lobby for the final headcount. All there, farewells were said as the groups loaded into their cars.

Phil took his pair and set off for the blue sedan. There was a mad dash for the ever-coveted front seat, scrambling and shoving with no real malice. Unsurprisingly, Natasha managed to buckle herself safely in the shotgun position before her brother had any real chance to take it, and the archer slunk off to the back seat. They were the first to pull away.

The Tower faded into the distance as they sped up the streets of New York, headed towards the freeway to the great outdoors. Contentment and excitement were brewing, an odd but pleasant combination that left the mood in the car riding high.

As they reached the exit, Clint reached over the console and fired up the radio. He fiddled with the knobs and dials for several minutes, until the grainy hiss of static gave way to music. They settled on an eclectic station that boasted that it was _the number one pick for road trips._  The chorus of _Don’t Stop Me Now_  broke through the speakers, catching all their voices on the melody as they sang along.

They kept following the road, the music filling the car with excitement. The holiday had started in earnest, and Phil felt decidedly free boogieing down the freeway with his agents. He watched Clint shimmy along with _Toxic_  from the rearview mirror. Natasha joined in, wiggling her fingers to the beat. It was bliss.

Three songs later, Thor and his passengers passed in their minivan, honking and waving wildly. Peter could be seen through the back window, face smushed against the glass. Bruce was waving cheerfully but with his usual restraint, while Tony flipped them off out the window. Phil flashed his headlights in response.

Halfway through _Vacation_ , Steve’s car pulled forward, much more quietly. Peggy waved gently out of the front window, and that was the only movement to be seen, aside from Bucky's head bobbing against the headrest, dozing peacefully in the backseat through the rear-view.

On they went, moving and grooving into the great unknown. The car was loud and busy, but content. He stole glances at his loved ones, unable to recall the last time he had seen them both so carefree. Clint was flicking what little hair he had to the beat of the music, miming dramatically. He shot Phil a wink at being caught in the act. They laughed.

Natasha fell asleep an hour in, curled up in the hood of her jacket. The boys agreed that it would be nice to turn the music off for her, lest a particularly loud song wake her. The silence was easy, but it couldn’t last, not with Clint in the car.

“I’ve never had a family vacation before.” he stated.

Phil hummed. “That so?”

“What are they like?” A little apprehensive, unusual for the boy.

“Chaos.” smiled the agent, remembering trips with his cousins. “But good chaos. Some of my best memories.”

“Tell me about it?”

His voice filled with depth and nostalgia as he remembered travelling to the south for his great-aunt’s wedding. Five kids, his mom and her sister and their grandmother in a van for eighteen hours. By the time they reached the rest stop, Clint was in peels of laughter as Phil relayed how his cousin Jess spilt raspberry soft drink on her mother’s silk dress. They were all grins as the climbed out to meet the others.

His charges run off towards the group already gathered in front of the gas station. Phil followed at a more sedate pace, met be Peggy in the middle.

“There has been a traffic incident on the freeway, so we have to take the next exit and come around the back way.”

She showed in the revised route in the map. It looked to be a more scenic route, passing right through the forrest near the cabin. The only downfall - it looked to be about twice the length of their original route.

“When should we arrive?” he asked. The thought of trying to book ten people into a motel in the middle of nowhere sent shivers down his spine.

Peggy smiled. “Just after six.”

Only an additional hour. Phil nodded, “Anything else?”

“Actually, yes. It seems that the snacks were forgotten.” she shrugged gently. Phil smiled, feeling fulfilled by the news that she was just as human as the rest of them - well, excluding Thor, but the expression stood.

“Convenience store?” he suggested.

She nodded, “Mind the kids?”

There was a rush of bodies in and out of the service station as they filled the cars and took advantage of the clean bathrooms. Phil brought Thor up to speed on the new plan, and they arranged a rest stop just off the proposed route that had a quaint-sounding diner. He, Peter and Bruce then joined Peggy and her charges in the convenience store to pick snacks.

Phil was sitting on the bench out front. Natasha and Tony were stretching their legs in the parking lot, chatting lightly amongst themselves. There was a moment of peace between them, a genuine moment of love and respect. He watched Natasha ruffle the inventor’s hair playfully, and almost felt like he was intruding. They had truly grown into their role as siblings.

It was at this moment that Phil realised he’d misplaced Clint. The slippery little bastard was nowhere to be seen. He looked around sedately, trying not to panic. The blond was an adult man, after all. Phil was sure he couldn’t have gotten into too much mischief.

That notion was proven wrong almost immediately. Because there was Clint, stuffed comically into the coin-operated ride by the door. One arm was clutching the roof of the jet plane, while the opposite leg was pushed out through the windscreen. He caught sight of Phil with a wicked grin.

“No.” He shook his head preemptively.

Clint smiled more sweetly, and attempted to tilt his head cutely. It clunked against the back wall of the ride hollowly, undercutting the moment.

“Absolutely not.” he responded.

Clint tried to become the image of innocence, frowning angelically. He dropped his arm dramatically from the roof. His puppy dog eyes - round and grey and full of hope - were almost Phil’s undoing. But, he hadn’t become the Avengers Liaison without a strong will.

“You are far to big to be in that thing, Barton.” He meant ‘big’ in all its senses.

“The weight limit is two-hundred pounds,” he parried, “and there’s no age limit.”

And as he went to argue, “I checked.”

It seemed he had him painted into a corner there. Phil tried a different tactic.

“I’m afraid I’m out of quarters.” he made a show of patting his pockets, laying it on thick in the hopes that it would prove his point.

A beat of silence fell over the scene. He thought he had won when Clint looked away, thought he’d defeated his exasperating archer. But the smirk that returned when they locked eyes told a different story.

“It takes card.”

And that was where they were found when the party returned from the store. Clint was smiling brightly, rocking back and forth in the creaking shell of the simulated plane. He was gleeful and unrepentant, if a little uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Phil stood to the side, head in one hand, questioning every life decision that had brought him here and pretending he didn’t know any of them.

Peggy was laughing freely, leaning on Steve’s arm. _At least someone’s amused_  thought Phil. Peter shot a mesmerised look at Phil, who avoided his gaze. He couldn’t handle the embarrassment of being conned by another. Thankfully, he didn’t have to, because Thor was more than happy to pay for the youngster to have a ride. They stood on in amusement as Clint wiggled his way out of the seat to make way for his brother. He looked positively overcome with excitement.

There was one upside to his plight, however. He now had photographs of both Clint _and_  Peter having the time of their lives. All for twenty-five cents.

It was time to get back on the road. The rest had been good, and Phil felt looser than he had in months, but they had to press on if they were going to make it before the day’s end. Pushing his kids gently in the direction of the sedan. Natasha fell back to his side, letting Clint take the front seat for this leg of the journey.

They followed the procession back onto the open road, letting the others guide them to the right exit. Soon enough, they were leaving the pristine lanes of the freeway, heading for the woods. Natasha looked out the window with delight as they slipped into the trees, slipping a little into her headspace. Clint, subdued since the stop, was dropping to the same level. It would take a while for them to fully settle in, but that wasn’t too much of a bother.

Soon enough however, they were getting bored. There was only so much looking out a window a kid could do without getting antsy, and it appeared the limit had been reached. Natasha was opening and closing the glove box intermittently, while Clint whistled tunelessly from the backseat. Phil thought for a moment before his mind stuck on an idea.

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with B.” Phil suggested.

Clint shot upright in his seat. If there was something he loved more than winning, it was guessing games. Natasha began scanning around the car for objects in sight that met the brief. A second of silence, and -

“Backpack?” from the girl.

“Brake pedal?” from the boy.

“No.” he smiled. “Try again.”

More looking before Natasha spotted a pack of bubblegum in the console, and Clint saw a book on the floor by his sister’s foot. Neither were right. More incorrect guesses included birds, bridges, boots and the biohazard symbol on Clint’s shirt. It took five more minutes before Clint shouted “Bluetooth symbol!” and became the spyer.

“I spy with my little eye,” he started, peering around for an object to spy, “something beginning with T.”

“Turn signal?” asked Phil.

“Nope!”

“Trees?”

“Nuh-uh.” gloated Clint. “It’s too good, you won’t get it.”

“Trombone.” from Natasha.

“How did you get that?” he whined.

“It’s in the trunk of the car in front.” she monotoned.

And on it went.

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with S.”

Natasha was awfully smug when no one could guess that one. After five minutes, they had exhausted every “S” word they could think of (including “shit”, thank you Clint). She sat up straighter in her chair, smiled glibly.

“Steve!” she proclaimed.

“That’s cheating, it has to be something you can _see_.” protested Clint.

Natasha pointed up into the rearview mirror, and sure enough, there he was. Phil hadn’t noticed the two-toned van catching them of the road.

“Touchè.”

The game went on until the next rest stop. They spied _seatbelt buckles, mirrors_  and _roadkill._  Phil pulled a wildcard and chose _aglets_ , while Clint went in entirely the opposite direction and said _L-icopter._  In the end, they tied eleven rounds each.

Somewhere between the roadkill and the misspelt stop sign, they had both returned to their adult selves, just in time for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you see any mistakes, let me know.
> 
> Comments appreciated!


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